


Copper

by Aniimone



Series: Metal [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, F/M, Gangs, M/M, Minor Character Death, Old Affiliations, Serious Injuries, Traps, tense situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-09 19:06:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12894762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aniimone/pseuds/Aniimone
Summary: The hitman gang Akatsuki starts to look for Naruto after finding out that he's still alive. Federal Agent Sakura Haruno and the famous assassin team of the Suna siblings have agreed to help Naruto and Sasuke try to capture the mercenary gang Naruto used to work for. Whether or not all of them get out alive, however, is a very different question.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter's a little short, but I'll make up for it with the second.

Gaara and his siblings fly into town two days later and set up in a hotel room. Temari, his sister, becomes one of their tacticians and sets up sensors and cameras around the church. Shikamaru and she get along well.

Temari and Shikamaru lay out a plan that indicates locations for everyone on their side, including the SWAT team, who will be used to draw out the rest of Akatsuki once everyone is inside the church. Sasuke, Gaara, Kankuro, and Sakura will be stationed throughout the area and will move to cover the opponents set for each of them.

Naruto will contact Kisame and tell him he killed Itachi, and he wants to meet at the church.

They decide to set the plan into motion the day after New Years.

On New Year’s Eve, Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara go out to a club. Naruto drinks like it’s the last night of his life. Two drunks helping a shit-faced drunk home unsurprisingly doesn’t go well. They almost get arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct two separate times. Naruto tries to fight a tree and ends up with leaves and twigs stuck in his hair. Sasuke somehow manages to call Ino with Naruto’s cell phone and convinces her to come pick them up at 3 am.

“This plan is sooo stupid,” Naruto slurs.

“We’re going to die,” Sasuke responds, sounding completely calm.

“Hey, you’re already dead! Can’t kill the dead twice,” Gaara adds.

“We’re like z’mbies, S’s’ke, or ghooosts,” Naruto claims.

In the driver’s seat, Ino sighs and pulls up in front of Gaara’s hotel. He stumbles out and gets whacked on the side of the head by his sister, who is waiting in front. Ino drives off again and starts heading to Naruto’s.

“I hope this plan works,” she mutters.

Naruto hums his agreement.

“Most likely won’t, but it’s not the first time I’ve gone charging into something like this and lived,” Sasuke says.

“Same here,” Naruto tells him.

Ino stops in front of the building and tells them to be careful. Naruto says he’s always careful right before he trips over his own feet and plows straight into a snowy bush. Sasuke laughs at him for a few minutes before he offers his hand to his fiance. Naruto grabs it and pulls Sasuke down on top of him. Ino bites her lip nervously. They surface from the bush, laughing and shaking the snow off themselves. Naruto waves at her and wraps his arm around Sasuke’s shoulders. They get to the door and let themselves inside. Ino drives away.

Naruto and Sasuke make it to Naruto’s apartment and stumble inside, locking the door behind them.

~+~+~+~+~

In the morning, Naruto sits up and groans, cradling his head. He looks around and sighs when he sees Sasuke still asleep beside him. He gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom to throw up and check himself in the mirror. He frowns at the leaves stuck in his hair and picks them out. He washes his face and swallows an ibuprofen. Then he leaves the bathroom and collapses back in his bed. Sasuke hums and wraps his arm around Naruto’s waist.

Naruto falls back asleep until about noon when Sasuke gets up. They eat breakfast and decide to spend the day lounging around in bed.

~+~+~+~+~

Naruto calls Kisame. He’s in Gaara and his siblings’ hotel room with them, Sakura, Sasuke, and Shikamaru.

Kisame answers on the fifth ring.

“What?!” he snaps.

“Kisame. It’s Uzumaki.”

Silence. Then Kisame responds in a much smoother tone.

“Uzumaki. What can I do for you, you little traitor?”

Naruto grits his teeth.

“I want to meet with you. Tomorrow night, I’ll be at the church on Alder St. at eleven. Come alone,” he says.

He hangs up before Kisame gets a chance to respond. Naruto pockets his phone and nods to his comrades.

“If all goes according to plan, we’ll capture or kill him, Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, and Hidan. Right?” Sakura asks.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees. “Now let’s hope none of us get hurt in the process.”

~+~+~+~+~

Naruto is standing in the center of the church, waiting and watching the doors. Twelve minutes past eleven, a tall man with gill-like tattoos on his cheekbones and neck enters, carrying a huge sword across his shoulder with the outline of a gun holster on his belt.

Naruto waits for him to approach.

“Kisame,” he greets.

“Naruto. Nice to see you survived. Although, I must admit I’m disappointed in you. Why didn’t you come back to Akatsuki?”

“I don’t want to live that life anymore,” Naruto replies. “Where’s Itachi?”

“My partner found himself on the wrong end of a gun barrel. I’m sure you don’t know anything about that,” Kisame says smoothly.

“That’s unfortunate,” Naruto tells him. “But it looks like he wasn’t the only one.”

Sakura shoots from her location in the organ alcove. Kisame has a moment of shock before his body hits the ground, a hole in his forehead.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you, mh!” a familiar voice shouts as Deidara lunges from the shadows behind the rubble of the altar.

Sasuke intercepts him quickly. Sasori comes out to help his partner and gets caught up by Kankuro. Gaara shoots Sasori in the shoulder from a distance and he falls. One of Sakura’s SWAT soldiers restrains him and drags him out of the church, steering clear of the fight between Sasuke and Deidara. 

Naruto looks around and suddenly feels the wind get knocked out of him. He falls and looks up at his assailant, who has a gun pointed at his head.

“Sorry Uzumaki, but no one gets out of Akatsuki unhurt,” Kakuzu says.

Naruto swipes Kakuzu’s legs out from under him and brings him down. He wrestles Kakuzu’s gun out of his grasp and turns it on him.

“The name's Naruto!” he growls. 

Then he hits Kakuzu over the head with the butt of the rifle. Another SWAT member comes over to grab him. Naruto stands up.

“Where are you, Hidan?!” he shouts.

“Right here, motherfucker!” a voice shouts.

Naruto gets pinned to the ground again, this time with a pole pressed against his throat, suffocating him. He coughs and kicks up. Hidan skids back and uses his blade to stop himself from falling. He grins at Naruto crookedly as Naruto stands up.

“This isn’t going to be easy now, is it, you bastard?” Hidan asks.

“Definitely not for you.”

Naruto runs towards him, pulling a pistol out of his jacket holster. He levels it at Hidan, who knocks it out of his hand and swipes at him simultaneously. Naruto ducks under the blade and ends up on Hidan’s other side, his other pistol raised.

“You’re just as shitty as you ever were, fucking Uzumaki,” Hidan calls.

Naruto shoots and misses, the sound of the shot echoing in the crumbling church. He dodges another swipe from Hidan and gets forced back. He dodges again and again until his back hits the plaster, and then he ducks. He feels something cut his shoulder but he pushes forward and tackles Hidan. He fires off another shot and feels Hidan’s grip on his forearm slowly loosening. He hears Hidan’s weapon fall and backs off, watching Hidan’s blood stain his shirt slowly. Once the light fades from Hidan’s eyes, Naruto looks up at Sasuke.

His blood runs cold at the sight he finds.

Sasuke is lying on the ground, his left arm shredded and useless from the elbow down. He coughs up blood and Deidara is kneeling on his chest, grinning.

“Not so strong when you can’t hold a sword, are you Uchiha?” Deidara asks.

He raises his hand and Naruto sees a glint of metal. The world seems to slow down and he feels a burning rage overwhelm him. Naruto screams and races forward, adrenaline giving him strength he usually doesn’t have. He rips Deidara off his fiance and takes the weapon in the arm, but Sasuke is alive, he's alive, and that’s all Naruto can think about. He rips the shard of metal out of his arm and stabs Deidara with it, uncaring to the pain he feels as it cuts his hand or the blood running down his arm.

He sits up, gasping, staring down at the dead Akatsuki member with a shard of Sasuke’s sword embedded in his head.

“Now I can see why they called you the Demon Fox,” Sasuke says.

They make eye contact for a split second before Naruto tries to stand up and his world goes black. The last thing he hears is someone shouting his name.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof

Naruto wakes up in a white room that smells like sterilizer and blood. He looks at himself and finds his right arm in a cast. His left hand is wrapped up in bandages. He feels something over his shoulder too. He looks around the room. Hospital. Of course. He sits up and winces. He can see the form of someone’s lower body behind a white curtain and calls out.

“Hello?”

A nurse walks into the room.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake,” she says. “Please don’t move too much. Your right arm was cut badly. We had to perform surgery just to keep it connected to you. Your friend… wasn’t as lucky.”

Naruto’s eyes widen and he stares at the other body again.

“Sasuke,” he murmurs.

“Please rest, sir,” the nurse prompts.

“Let me see him,” Naruto requests firmly.

“Sir, you need to sleep--”

Naruto glares at her.

“Let me see my fiance,” he demands.

She stares back, startled for a moment before she nods and pulls the curtain back. Naruto has to bite his lip. Sasuke is asleep. His left arm ends about six inches below his shoulder. His chest is bandaged as much as the end of his arm.

Naruto sighs, relieved to find his lover alive. Then he looks back at the nurse.

“Thank you,” he says. “Is he stable?”

She nods.

Naruto smiles.

“Good. That’s good. Hey, do you think you could get me something to eat? I’m starving,” he says softly.

“Of course, Mr. Namikaze,” she replies, heading towards the door.

“It’s Naruto,” he tells her.

She smiles and nods, heading out.

Naruto finds his phone plugged in beside his bed and picks it up. Three missed calls and messages from his friends and one of each from Sakura. He listens to hers first.

“ _Naruto. I went home. Thanks for all your help with Akatsuki. I had the big-wigs waive the possible homicide charges against you two. You easily would’ve gotten away with self-defense anyway. I hope you’re doing okay. That friend of yours, Ino… she’s quite nice. I wouldn’t mind if you gave her my phone number for me. Anyway, it was a pleasure to see you again, even if the circumstances weren’t the best. Hopefully, next time we meet, it won’t be under another work-related situation like this. Good luck. Bye._ ”

Naruto smiles. Then he checks his friends’ messages. There’s one from Ino, one from Choji, and one from Shikamaru.

Ino wishes him well and promises to visit him. Shikamaru says he and Temari are dating and he hopes Naruto recovers quickly. Choji sounds panicked and asks a lot of questions. It sounds like someone explained half of the situation to him in very short paraphrases. Naruto chuckles when the message ends and gives him a call. Choji answers on the second ring.

“Naruto?! What happened? I heard you fought this gang called Akatsuki and you ended up in the hospital but--”

“Choji, I’m fine. So is Sasuke. We’re a little worse for wear and he lost his left arm, but we’re alive. Akatsuki is gone. How much did the others tell you about me?” Naruto asks.

“They said your real name is Naruto Uzumaki and you’re 26 but then they said you used to be a hitman? They told me you were raised by a gangster? What the hell is that about?”

Naruto sighs and rubs a hand down his face, feeling stubble on his chin. He wonders how long he’s been unconscious.

“Listen, Choji, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Well, I guess it really is. I was an assassin, but it’s not like I wanted to be one. When I was twelve, I was adopted by the leader of a pretty big gang and raised to take over for the leader, Jiraiya. A different man who was a few years older than me killed Jiraiya and took his place. I kept working for them until four years ago when Sasuke and I faked our deaths in Boston. Look up ‘Warehouse 27 Explosion’ on YouTube. Sasuke and I took out a man named Orochimaru after that and got away from that life. We took new identities and went to college so we could do some good to make up for all the bad. Almost a year ago, an FBI agent named Sakura Haruno tracked me down and hired Sasuke and me to kill Sasuke’s older brother, Itachi Uchiha. In return, the Japanese prime minister and the American president gave us both a full pardon for our past crimes,” Naruto explains. “A few days ago, I told everyone else, and one of my old contacts came by and told me Akatsuki found out I was still alive and they were after me. I called Agent Haruno and convinced her and another assassin and his team to help me not die, -ttebayo. We killed a few members of the gang and imprisoned the rest. That’s when I passed out. I just woke up in the hospital.”

Choji is silent for a moment.

“Are you okay?” he asks eventually, sounding genuinely concerned.

Naruto chuckles slightly and lies back.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, dattebayo.”

“...I’ll take you out for barbeque when they release you from the hospital,” Choji promises.

“Thanks, Choji,” Naruto replies softly. “That’s really nice of you.”

“Your life sounds awful. My Dad was in World War II and some of the stories he’s told me sound kind of similar, so I guess it’s the least I can do.”

Naruto smiles.

“I’ll give you a call when they let me out, then.”

“Yeah. See you soon, Naruto,” Choji says.

“Bye,” Naruto replies.

He hangs up and plugs his phone back in. The nurse comes in again with a tray of food and sets it down on Naruto’s lap. He thanks her and she leaves again. Naruto turns on the news and finds… nothing about their incident. He smiles and starts eating while he watches the weather report, then a brief report about a hit-and-run. It’s nice for once not to have something he was involved in being broadcast to the world the next day. He hears a groan and looks over at Sasuke, who is starting to wake up. Naruto grins and stands up, ignoring the pain in his hand as he grabs his IV pole and drags it over so he can sit on the edge of Sasuke’s hospital bed and take his remaining hand.

Sasuke opens his eyes sleepily and looks up at Naruto.

“Naru… to?” he asks.

His voice is raspy and quiet but Naruto feels his eyes sting. He grips Sasuke’s hand tighter.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m right here, Sasuke. How are you feeling?”

Sasuke hums and looks around.

“We’re in a hospital,” he comments.

Naruto laughs breathlessly.

“Yeah. We’re alive, miraculously. But… your left arm…”

Sasuke tries to look at his left hand and startles, following where his arm should be until he is staring at the bandaged stump.

“Oh,” he says simply.

Then he faints.

Naruto calls a nurse in and she checks Sasuke, determines he is fine, scolds Naruto for “over-exciting him”, and takes Naruto’s tray away after forcing him back into his own bed.

Naruto picks up his phone again and calls Ino.

“Naruto?”

“Hey! How are you?”

“Naruto! You’re awake!” she exclaims.

“Yeah,” he replies, “So what’s up, -ttebayo?”

“Nothing, really. Classes start again in three more days, so Neji, Tenten, and I have been cramming for Chem. Hinata and Kiba are alright, they’ve been really worried about you. Choji was freaked out, so we told him a little,” Ino says.

“Yeah, I called him earlier and explained everything. He promised to take me out for barbeque when they let me go.”

“Really? Well, I’m glad he took the whole former-assassin thing well,” she tells him.

Naruto laughs.

“Yeah, me too. So what about Shikamaru and Lee? Shino?” he asks.

“They’re fine. Shikamaru has been really getting along with that Temari girl.”

“Yeah, he left me a message that said they’re dating,” Naruto responds.

“Really?” Ino crows.

“Yeah. Oh, and about Sakura… She said you seem nice, and she wanted me to give you her number.”

“Wow,” Ino breathes, awed.

Naruto chuckles.

“I’ll text it to you,” he promises.

He can hear her whisper yes and pump her fist, making him laugh again.

“Hey, how’s Sasuke?” she asks gently.

Naruto looks over at his fiance.

“He’s alive,” he replies. “He woke up for a few minutes a little while ago, but passed out again when he saw what happened to his arm.”

“What happened?” Ino asks.

Naruto sighs.

“Deidara blew it up.”

Silence.

“I hope you killed him,” Ino says firmly.

“Yeah, I did, but I almost got my arm cut off in the process, and my hand got sliced open,” he tells her.

She exhales.

“I’ll come visit you later, I promise. I’ll bring as many of the others as I can,” she says. “The last time we tried to see you they said they had to perform surgery on your arm so we couldn’t go in.”

“The medical bills are going to _suck_ ,” Naruto mutters, staring at the ceiling.

Ino laughs.

“I’ve got to go, I’ll um… see you later.”

“Yeah. Bye,” Naruto replies, smiling crookedly.

She hangs up and he texts her the number. Then he sets his phone down again.

Sasuke keeps sleeping. Naruto eventually convinces the nurse to let him take a shower. He finds out he only slept for about a day and a half. According to the doctor who checks up on him, he passed in and out of sleep during that time. Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji come visit him around four in the afternoon. He grins at them.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Naruto,” Hinata says, setting a plate of cookies down on his bedside table.

“Me too,” he replies, taking a bite out of one. “This is really good!”

“Thank you, they’re a family recipe,” Hinata tells him shyly.

“So anyway, tell us what happened!” Kiba prompts. “Shikamaru gave us the run-down, but we want to know how the fight went.”

“Well, Deidara blew up Sasuke’s left arm so they had to amputate most of it. That cost that bastard his life. Hidan is dead, I shot him. Kisame was sniped by Sakura. Kankuro restrained Sasori enough for him to be arrested. I knocked Kakuzu out and he got arrested too,” Naruto recounts.

His friends are silent for a moment.

“At least you’re still alive,” Tenten says.

Naruto grins and agrees.

Then he hears his name and bolts to Sasuke’s side again.

“Hey,” he murmurs as Sasuke looks up at him again. “How are you?”

“Shut up, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke says. “I’m fine. Actually, I’m dissociating, but oh well. Can you get me some water?”

Naruto nods and pours him a glass from the pitcher on the table. He hands it to Sasuke, who sits up and drinks it.

“What happened?” Sasuke asks, looking around. “The last thing I remember is starting to fight Deidara.”

“He blew your arm off, and I killed him for it,” Naruto responds. “The other Akatsuki members are either imprisoned or dead.”

“Good,” Sasuke replies coldly.

He looks his fiance over.

“You got hurt pretty badly too,” he notices.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees. “I think I can go back to class in time, though. I just need someone to take notes for me.”

“I’m sure we can help,” Shikamaru replies.

Naruto smiles and thanks him.

“Naruto,” Sasuke says.

Naruto and the others look at him. Sasuke looks Naruto in the eye fiercely, and his eyes don’t have the unfocused look of someone who is dissociating anymore.

“How many of them did you kill?”

Naruto opens his mouth but doesn’t respond.

“Naruto,” Sasuke prompts, gritting his teeth.

“Hidan and Deidara.”

“Dobe! The government will press charges!” Sasuke hisses.

“Sakura told me she convinced the higher-ups to let us off,” Naruto assures him. “It was self-defense. Me or them. In Deidara’s case, you or him.”

Sasuke glares at him.

“You idiot. There are still bounties on our heads. The U.S. and Japanese governments gave us our pardon with conditions. No more killing for profit.”

“Relax, bastard, it’s fine. Trust her. Trust me.”

They make eye contact and keep it for a minute. Finally, Sasuke looks away.

“Fine,” he snaps.

Naruto looks at his other friends again.

“Sorry to drag you all into this,” he tells them sheepishly. “I guess I was an idiot to think I could escape that world.”

He chuckles nervously and scratches the back of his neck. Shikamaru crosses the room and puts his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto lowers his arm and looks up at him.

“We know it must have been hard, but you’re not alone anymore. Neither of you are,” Shikamaru promises, looking Sasuke in the eye with the last part.

Naruto smiles and thanks him.

Then the nurse comes back in, squawks when she sees Sasuke sitting up, and shoos out their visitors to treat him. The others promise to visit again soon and tell Naruto to let them know when he gets out.

~+~+~+~

Naruto is released from the hospital the next day and goes out with Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru for dinner. Choji takes the bill and the four of them go for a walk afterward.

“So do you think something like this might come up again?” Shikamaru asks.

“I don’t know,” Naruto sighs, stuffing his non-casted hand in his pocket. “I don’t know all of Sasuke’s story, and if someone comes after him I’ll end up getting involved somehow.”

“How is he?” Ino asks gently.

“He’s alright. He’s been sleeping a lot, but his arm is healing well. At least, that’s what the doctor told me. Last time I saw him, it was pretty bad… Ino, have you started talking to Sakura yet?”

“Yeah, she’s really great! We’re going out to dinner on Friday,” Ino replies, picking up on his need to stop talking about his fiance’s injuries.

“Her idea?” Naruto asks knowingly.

Ino laughs and affirms it.

They keep walking, making small talk, mentioning Sasuke only occasionally. When they get to the edge of campus, they say their goodbyes and split up.

Naruto walks back to his apartment, so lost in thought as he goes that he is surprised when he finds himself in front of the door. He lets himself in and takes off his shoes. As he is pouring himself a drink in the kitchen, his phone rings with an unknown number. Hesitantly, he answers it.

“Hello?”

“Naruto? It’s your father.”

“Dad?”

The glass shatters on the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> @MidnightEssence Thank you for your support on my writing!


End file.
